


Fancy & Free

by justdk



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2021-02-25 03:42:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22329379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justdk/pseuds/justdk
Summary: Neil buys something fancy for his date with Andrew. Andrew stresses about this non-date date. Neil is 20 and he and Andrew are living their best life.
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 14
Kudos: 164





	Fancy & Free

“I can’t believe this shirt is only five dollars,” Neil mutters. He finishes buttoning up the shirt and turns in a circle so that Matt can see.

Matt sits on the minuscule bench in the Walmart changing room. The space is so cramped that Neil has to stand between his legs while he’s changing. A year ago he would never have been comfortable with this but now it doesn’t even register. He smoothes his hands down the front of his shirt and holds his arms out.

“What do you think?”

Matt’s grinning so big, like he’s holding in a laugh or a joke but he manages to pull himself together.

“Goes great with your eyes and hair,” he says and reaches up to tousle Neil’s disheveled hair back into place.

“Yeah?” Neil adjusts the sleeves and allows a small smile to tug at his lips. “I don’t even have to roll the sleeves up, how awesome is that?”

This time Matt does laugh, a soft chuckle that shows off his dimples.

“What?” Neil asks, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Nothing, nothing.” Matt waves him off. “Can I take a pic for Dan? She wanted to know what you were wearing for your big date.”

Neil flushes but nods his head and stands a bit awkwardly while Matt snaps a picture with his phone.

“I know I’ll probably regret asking, but do you think Andrew will like it?”

Matt stands and puts his hands on Neil’s shoulders. He’s so damn tall that Neil has to tilt his head way back to look at him.

“I think so,” Matt says sincerely. “At the very least you’re not wearing a hoodie or sports clothing so I think he’ll see this as an improvement.”

Neil nods and gives himself one more look in the mirror. He sees icy blue eyes, bright auburn hair, and the harsh, unchanging scars. He swallows hard and starts unbuttoning the shirt, turning his eyes away and staring down at Matt’s enormous shoes.

“Hey.” Matt touches Neil’s shoulder again, giving him a brief squeeze. “I’m proud of you.”

“For what?” Neil slips off the shirt and Matt hands him his hoodie, taking the shirt from him.

“For doing this.” Matt waves the shirt around, gesturing at the gray walls of the changing room. “I know you don’t like shopping for clothes or wearing anything that makes you stand out.” Neil looks up with wide eyes and Matt backpedals. “Not that this makes you stand out! It’s just, you know…”

“Not something the standard hobo would wear?” Neil asks wryly.

“Exactly.” Matt grins and helps him into his oversized hoodie. The sleeves are way too long and the extra fabric bunches up around his wrists.

They exit the changing room, causing a brief amount of scandal when the waiting customers see them emerge. Matt smiles sunnily and Neil scowls. He hears a few people gasp when they get a look at him. Whispers follow them but the remarks are more “that poor boy” and “I wonder what happened…” instead of anyone saying something about two boys changing together. It’s not much of a consolation.

Matt drags Neil around Walmart for thirty more minutes, filling up his cart with snacks, microwave meals, beer, condoms, DVDs, magazines, and a fox plushie. Neil holds his shirt and follows him, enjoying Matt’s easy-going company and commentary; they don’t hang out much now that they’re no longer roommates and Neil’s missed him.

The novelty starts to wear off under the constant double takes of the other customers. And after seeing almost everything in the store Neil feels a little overwhelmed. It’s not as bad as going to the mall but it’s still somewhat exhausting. They head to the registers and Matt makes small talk with the cashier. Neil’s shirt sits by itself behind the pile of Matt’s items. Neil adds a pack of Juicy Fruit just to make it seem like more.

When it’s his turn the cashier doesn’t make small talk but shoots him some pitying glances that Neil ignores. He hands over a crumpled twenty-dollar bill and pockets the change. The lighthearted mood he had had earlier, when it was just he and Matt in the changing room, has vanished. Normally he can ignore the looks and whispers but today… today’s supposed to be special. He’s supposed to have grown up or changed or matured or _something_ but he feels the same. A new shirt won’t change anything, won’t make him normal.

They load up the truck and Matt digs around in a plastic bag and pulls out the fox plushie. He hands it to Neil, a smile lighting up his face.

“Happy Birthday,” Matt says. “Thought you might like this.”

Neil holds the fox up, staring at its unrealistically cute face. The fabric is soft. He squeezes the sides of the fox experimentally.

“It’s a toy?” Neil asks hesitantly.

“Yep.” Matt starts up the truck and fiddles with the radio until he finds a good station.

“Matt, I’m twenty not, not how old – what is the age range for this?” Neil examines the tag. It reads: For Ages 4-6.

Matt bites his lip and turns to face Neil. “You never had stuffed animals, did you?”

“Is that a joke?” Neil glares at the fox. It really is cute. “Of course not.”

“Well, there you go,” Matt says, easily sidestepping the landmines of Neil’s horrific childhood. “Never too late, I say. Besides, you’re a fox. This is for team spirit and all that. We could make a little jersey for it.”

In spite of himself Neil laughs. He doesn’t miss the sound of Matt’s phone taking another picture.

“Also…” Matt drawls, humor drawing out his vowels. “You got that shirt from the kids section so… if the shoe fits.”

Neil hits Matt in the face with the fox.

—–

Everyone has an idea of what Andrew should do for Neil’s twentieth birthday and they all feel compelled to tell him. He’s heard suggestions on what to buy, everything from exy gear (Kevin) to sexy gear (Allison), and recommendations on what to do. He threatened Nicky with bodily harm before his cousin said more than five words. At least Aaron has managed to mind his own business.

The thing is, Neil’s not one to make a fuss. They didn’t even know _when_ his birthday was last year. And it’s not like Andrew has that many good birthdays to use as reference, though there was the year Nicky bought him an entire ice cream cake for his birthday. That was a good one.

Unsurprisingly it was Bee who guided him towards the idea, not that he’ll tell Neil that; Neil would balk just knowing that Betsy Dobson was in any way involved. Abby was far too pleased to go along with it and Wymack had claimed he didn’t care and didn’t want to know but had still left a bottle of celebratory whiskey on the kitchen counter.

It’s not much, really, but Andrew can’t imagine Neil wanting to do the whole going out to a restaurant or any other typical date scenarios. While Neil puts up a brave front to the media and the world at large, when he’s out in public spaces he tends to withdraw if he isn’t in the shelter of the rest of the team. He only seems at ease in their familiar spots: Eden’s and Sweetie’s. The staff there knows them and don’t pry and Andrew can stare down any assholes that dare to give Neil weird looks.

But Eden’s and Sweetie’s are out. They aren’t… right… for this sort of thing. So here he is, in Abby’s kitchen, pacing and waiting for Matt to drop Neil off from his mystery shopping trip. Andrew frowns at the timer ticking away the seconds until the garlic bread is done. The whole place smells like garlic and tomato sauce. It smells like every awkward first date setup from one of those sitcoms Nicky loves so much.

It isn’t a big deal. It isn’t a date. It’s dinner with Neil. They eat dinner together almost every day. They do practically everything together every single day. It is not a big deal at all.

The doorbell rings and Andrew startles like a cat. He shakes his head at himself and rubs his strangely sweaty hands over his jeans. It’s just Neil, for fuck’s sake. He plucks at his black shirt – new and form fitting – and makes his way to the front door.

Neil is standing on the front stoop, his cheeks flushed and his eyes sparkling. His wide smile is pulled a little lopsided by his scars but it is… well, his smile is one of Andrew’s favorite sights. For some reason he’s clutching a stuffed animal to his chest but what really grabs Andrew’s attention is –

“Is that a new shirt?” he asks.

Neil bobs his head. “Yep. I, uh, wanted to look fancy. For tonight. I didn’t know what you had planned.”

Andrew bites back a smile. Truly Neil is the only man who would think a plaid flannel shirt is fancy.

“It looks warm,” he says, ushering Neil inside.

“It is! And it’s soft. Feel it.” Neil holds out his arm and Andrew runs his fingers over the fabric. It is soft. And warm. And Andrew doesn’t want to stop touching Neil. He moves his hand up Neil’s arm to his shoulder to the back of his neck, curling his fingers in the collar of the shirt. Neil leans into the touch, tilting his head towards Andrew’s until their lips are nearly brushing.

“Yes?” Neil whispers hopefully.

“Yes,” Andrew answers.

They kiss in the hallway. Neil tastes like Juicy Fruit gum and he holds the fox between them, letting Andrew back him up against the wall. Neil’s learned a lot about kissing over the past year and Andrew gets so distracted that he’s startled again when the timer in the kitchen goes off, beeping shrilly in the quiet house. Neil jumps, too, and then they both laugh, leaning into each other.

“C’mon.” Andrew takes Neil’s hand and leads him to the kitchen.

Neil sniffs appreciatively. “Garlic.” His eyes are mischievous as he looks over at Andrew. “We can scare the vampires away.”

“I pity the vampire that goes after you,” Andrew replies.

Neil laughs. “That’s me: Neil Josten, Vampire Slayer.”

“You’re certainly dressed the part.” Andrew opens the oven and takes out the tray of garlic bread and sets it on top of the stove next to the lasagna. He notices Neil’s confused look and adds, “You look like the Winchester’s tiny baby brother.”

Neil looks down at his flannel and sighs. “You’re right.” When he glances up he’s grinning again. “At least I have this year’s Halloween costume taken care of, right?”

“Oh, please don’t tell Nicky,” Andrew grumbles as he dishes up the food. “He’ll have us all do a group costume.”

“Aww, you’d look great in flannel,” Neil teases. “Unless you’re going to be a vampire or something? We both know you have enough leather to pull it off.”

Andrew snorts and they sit down at the table to eat. Whatever worries Andrew had had about it being weird or awkward it’s anything but. Neil sits beside him and they talk about everything, last year’s Halloween costumes, Nicky’s favorite Winchester, how Aaron acts like he doesn’t care about Supernatural but never misses an episode, Kevin’s new energy drink obsession. As the meal progresses their chairs move closer together, dishes are pushed back, the conversation is quieter and then they’re not talking anymore but kissing again. It’s effortless and good and comfortable. It’s amazing, to borrow Neil’s word. Amazing that Neil – the infuriating liar that got under his skin and made him question everything – somehow became the most important person in Andrew’s life. It’s a mystery that he thinks he wouldn’t mind spending the rest of his life solving.

—–

After cleaning up Abby’s kitchen they head back to the dorms. They still have a bottle of whiskey and a few hours of Neil’s birthday left to celebrate. They share a few drinks and cigarettes on the rooftop and Neil makes a wish on a shooting star. It’s bitterly cold, even with a shared blanket wrapped around their shoulders. Andrew blows on Neil’s cold fingers and kisses the tip of his cold nose. Neil guides Andrew’s hands under his shirt to his warm belly, shivering against Andrew’s shoulder as Andrew’s fingers trace the familiar shape of his scars.

“Let’s go back in,” Andrew murmurs against Neil’s mouth. It’s too cold for their usual rooftop activities and Kevin’s obligingly made himself scarce for the night so they have the room to themselves.

Back in their room, by the warm glow of the desktop lamp, Andrew undresses Neil. He takes his time unbuttoning the flannel shirt – it’s so rare that Neil wears anything with buttons – kissing the skin and scars of his chest and stomach as undoes each button. Neil’s fingers grip Andrew’s shoulders tight and his breath catches at each press of Andrew’s mouth against his skin.

At last Andrew’s on his knees, his fingers undoing the button of Neil’s jeans, and Neil’s looking down at him with such stupid adoration that Andrew feels his face heating.

“Yes or no?” Andrew asks, his finger stroking down the fly of Neil’s jeans.

“Yes!” Neil answers, voice unsteady, breathless. “Yes, of course, yes, Andrew.”

Andrew smiles and tilts his head to kiss the inside of Neil’s wrist. “Well then, happy birthday to you, Neil Josten.” His teeth nip at Neil’s skin. “And many happy returns.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by my friend buying a shirt from the kids section of Walmart and I immediately thought of how well those shirts would fit Neil and how Andrew would absolutely hate Neil buying clothes at Walmart and especially kids clothes. Anyways, Neil definitely gets a different kind of dressing down about his wardrobe the following morning but he doesn’t care at all. Does Andrew ever borrow this soft, perfectly fitted flannel in the future?? Maybe so
> 
> ALSO: I am one of those people who thinks a plaid flannel is fancy so Neil’s definitely not alone!
> 
> you can find me on tumblr @dkafterdark


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